The Absinthe Museum of America


The mission of the museum is to give the general public an expanded knowledge of the elusive “green fairy,” absinthe. The drink once adored and credited with being the muse of artists, poets, and writers of the last century, eventually found itself despised and misunderstood. It was also blamed for causing alcoholism (absinthism) and insanity until its eventual banning in the United States in 1912 and finally in France, 1915. Founded by New Orleanians, Cary René Bonnecaze and B. Raymond Bordelon, the Museum stems from their own private collections and is the only museum of its kind in the U.S. being solely devoted to the preservation and education of absinthe.

(before 1915)
The museum’s first room explores the ritual of the drink absinthe and the various accoutrements used in its preparation (spoons, glasses, fountains, etc.). The drink was once the darling of the café society in France, as well as being popular in various cities in the United States, especially New Orleans. In this room, you will see very rare and hard to find items such as: 100’s of absinthe spoons and glasses, numerous antique fountains, saucers, balanciers, brouilleurs, spoon and sugar holders, game pieces, absinthe bottles (including a New Orleans absinthe made by Jung & Wolf in 1911, believed to be the only known bottle with the original label still intact). You will also experience various paperwork including: artwork associated with absinthe, advertisements, original invoices, anti-absinthe propa-ganda (which eventually helped lead to its demise), dozens of original labels from over 6 countries, ink blotters, calling cards, sales contracts, postcards, menus and much more.

	(after 1915)
	The second room brings you into the reawakening of absinthe in the 20th century. See a wide variety of various absinthe brands from throughout the world including; France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, and others. Also on display are the now legal absinthes available in the U.S., some of which are now being produced inside America. After absinthe was banned in France, there was still a demand for the taste of absinthe. This taste soon became replaced by a closely related anise base drink called, pastis. The museum displays a variety of antique pastis pieces, ranging from items produced shortly after the ban all the way up to to modern day examples. See up close samples of various herbes used in the distillation process, as well as a step-by-step instructional layout explaining how absinthe is made. There is also a short video explaining the history of absinthe, including a behind the scenes making of absinthe in the Combier distillery in Saumur, France by master distiller and New Orleans native, T.A. “Ted” Breaux.



Because of the large French population in New Orleans in the 1800’s, absinthe naturally made its way from Europe to New Orleans, who was billed as the “little Paris of North America." Soon, New Orleans became the absinthe capital of the U.S., where such notables as; Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Presidents came to imbibe. The city is now picking up where it left off over 95 years ago and is once again embracing “the green fairy.”


We would like to thank the following, without their help the museum would not have been possible; Marie-Claude Delahaye, PhiL (Frenchman), David Nathen-Maister, Benton "B.J." Bordeleon, Stacy Anne Bonnecaze, and last, but not least, T.A. Breaux.